The most significant debate surrounding tackle football in America rages around the age at which kids should be allowed to strap on the pads and play. It is a very understandable topic of discussion, given the popularity of football and the risks involved in playing the game. Those risks are factors at any age, but […]
When starting off on a football journey for you or your child it is very important to know what equipment you need. Football equipment such as pads, cleats, and a helmet are there for safety and protection in what is a very physical game. This – plus using the correct tackle technique as we have […]
The hottest topic of debate around tackle football is head injuries and – specifically – concussions in football. It has reached the point where even the word concussion is enough to scare a parent towards flag football and away from tackle football. Football coaching has significantly changed to prevent head contact in practices, with physical […]
Football continues to surge in popularity at the professional and college level. At the youth level, however, tackle football has seen a decrease in popularity as parents have become more and more worried about injuries to their children, especially concussion due to them not getting the right football coaching on their tackle technique. According to […]
Football is America’s game and has been the sport of choice for so many youths, middle school and high school players for generations. There are tackle leagues around the country for kids as young as 5. As indicated by a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics, there are around 250,000 youth football players from […]
In my professional rugby career, there were almost always two schools of thought related to players. Those who believed that natural athleticism honed and channelled in the right way in training could be superseded by individual skills development in terms of time, effort and energy. Then there is the second, where athleticism and physical dominance […]
I ask coaches all the time, “How serious are you taking tackling?” A lot of the responses I get are not great… It’s vital that we practice tackling for several reasons, that we are going to get into in the post. A few of the big reasons though are so that we can be better […]
Courage comes into play a lot when you are coaching or training for a sport. Is courage something that you can coached? Or is it simply something you’re either born with or not? Well for a short answer… Yes. Just like anything else, courage also can be coached. Courage is a very individual characteristic that […]
Practicing Tackling without Live Contact Situations Tackling is a huge part of football, and I believe it’s not given enough focus. With injury rates – and especially concussions – an increasingly hot topic, there are ongoing efforts to make the game safer. One proposed way is decreasing the amount of time that athletes engage in […]
The Importance of Neck Strengthening for Athletes Participating in Contact Sports Neck strengthening exercises are one of the most effective ways to prevent concussions in contact sports. These exercises, which should be incorporated for athletes of all ages and ability levels, can help to decrease the impact that contact has on the brain. As a […]